How Well Do You Know Your Compost? Answers

So I see many of you tried to answer, and I am surprised some of you were so close! Since none of you answered all perfectly, and there seemed to be a high level of interest in this topic, I will explain the answers to you below.

1. Eggshells
YES! Egg shells provide good digestive grit for compost worms, but the worms will only eat the shells if they are crushed into fine pieces. The eggshell pieces are also a source of calcium for the finished compost.

2. Lint
YES! Lint from the dryer and even from vacuum cleaners can be added safely to your compost pile. Try to avoid using synthetic dryer sheets, to avoid transferring chemicals to your compost, but lint made of mostly organic fibers like cotton and wool (a ‘brown’ or carbon source), and even the pet hair sucked up in the vacuum, is a-ok for health compost.

3. Pet Waste
NO! Avoid adding waste from dogs and cats, such as feces or soiled cat litter, to your compost pile, especially if you plan to use the compost for a vegetable garden. Like human excrement, which you should also never compost at home, pet waste can contain parasites, bacteria, germs, or pathogens that are harmful to humans.

4. Coffee Grounds
YES! Nitrogen-rich coffee grounds are a great addition to a compost pile, and even for mulching plants in your garden. Even the paper filters that you brew coffee in can be composted. Tea leaves also make for good compost material, as do tea bags, strings, and paper tags–just avoid the metal staples and plastic-coated or nylon bags, which won’t break down.

5. Cheese
NO! Dairy products like cheese, milk, butter, and yogurt don’t break down quickly in a passively managed home compost pile due to a high fat content. They create odor problems and attract rodents, flies, and other pests to your compost pile.

6. Citrus Fruit
NO! Due to their high concentration of oils, citrus fruits can take years to decompose in a compost pile. What’s more, the worms in worm farm composting systems will not eat citrus, and the high acid content can upset the balance of your compost pile.

7. Hay
YES! Hay, straw, or even wood chips can be a valuable source of nutrients for your compost pile. Layering these drier materials with the wetter ones from your kitchen or garden clippings also helps to maintain balance in the pile, and can help to keep out air, which contributes to a better environment for decomposition.

8. Meat and Fish
NO! Meat and fish take a long time to break down, can contribute to unpleasant odors, and attract unwanted pests to your compost heap. Best to avoid tossing them in the compost.

9. Diseased Plants
NO! Plants ridden with disease or insects do not belong in compost that you intend to use in your garden, as diseases and insects may survive and be transferred to healthy plants. Weeds can be composted if your compost pile gets hot enough, but be sure to dry them out first by laying them in the sun.

10. Fruits and Vegetables
YES! Most fruits and vegetables break down quickly and contribute to soil health. Some fruits, like citrus, take a long time to decompose and should be avoided in a home compost pile. Denser organic waste, like corn cobs, should be shredded for faster decomposition.

11. Charcoal Ashes
NO! Ashes from coal or charcoal contain chemicals that can harm plants–not to mention grease drippings from the grill that can attract pests.

So how did you do? Looks like a few of you did good!!

Here is a list of what NOT to put in.
Any meat or dairy products
Anything cooked including vegetables (these attract rats and flies)
Oils (such as vegetable oil)
Cigarette ends
Plastic bags
Dog and cat feces (including the litter from a tray)
Glossy magazines
Diseased plants
Any plants which have been treated with chemicals
Thorny plants

Again, thanks to American Progress for providing these answers. Happy Composting!

How Well Do You Know Your Compost?

Well, let me first start by saying, I am sure most of you don’t even have a compost. So my first big message right now is COMPOST COMPOST COMPOST. I am not going to act like a hero here because the truth is, my compost isn’t much, but a little compost can make a big difference. Now you don’t need to have a big stinky compost bin conveniently sitting in your front yard for all your neighbors to complain about, there are other options. One of these option is called NatureMills Compost. This is an awesome compost that can be put right in your home (and I mean indoors!). Now I will be the first one to admit that this product is going to cost you a fair bit of change, but in the long run I think you will definitely find it worth it.

There is 3 easy steps to making this compost work.

1. Add waste items- any time, any day
Add vegetables, coffeegrounds, even dairy meat or fish!

2. The NatureMill compost does the rest. The upper chamber mixes, heats, and aerates. Compost later transfers to the lower chamber, so you can add fresh items.

3. Remove compost fertilizer Empty every 2 weeks, when the red light comes on.

Okay so now that you can get a compost without having a big stink pit, lets learn what you can and can’t put in a compost. Write down your answers and I will post them for you in my next entry… orrr just click here for the answers.

Can you compost…

1. Eggs?
2. Lint?
3. Pet Waste?
4. Coffee Grounds?
5. Cheese?
6. Citrus Fruit?
7. Hay?
8. Meat and Fish?
9. Diseased Plants?
10. Fruits and Vegetables?
11. Charcoal Ashes?

The big thing here is that you should use a compost instead of throwing away food. Landfills are one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. I urge you to try to make a compost work, with products like NatureMills compost out there it is easier than you think.

What Products are Worth Buying?

What green products are the best for the environment?

Have you ever seen a product and questioned how much it helps the environment, society or effects the health of others? A new site called GoodGuide has just emerged. This site helps to build a comprehensive source of information on the environmental, social, and health performance of products and companies. This website is in beta testing, however, in the future, GoodGuide will have tools to let consumers screen this data through their own personal preferences, allowing them to “filter” and search for products and companies that match their specific values.

The ratings on GoodGuide are based off of the following data:
1) Health Performance: The impact on the company’s operations on its workers and local communities
2) Environmental Performance: The life-cycle impact of products
3) Social Performance: Social impacts the company has on employees, consumers, communities and even animals.

The ratings are on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 being the worst, 10 being the best). Some products claim that they are the best product for the environment, but are they really? With all the green washing going on these days it is pretty hard to believe all that is advertised to you. With this being said, based off of GoodGuide’s rating I will provide you with the Not Good, Average, Good, Better, Best, in other words the top 5.

Laundry detergent
In 5th place, Not Good: Lysol Disinfectant Spray Plus Fabric Refresher Rating of 5.3
In 4th place, Average: Sam’s Choice Power Clean Formula Detergent Rating 5.9
In 3rd place, Good: Vel Rosita Liquid Detergent Rating of 6.4
In 2nd place, Better: All Ultra Laundry Detergent, Stainlifter Plus Rating 8.1
In 1st place, Best: ECOS Ultra Concentrated Liquid Laundry Detergent Rating 8.8

Well you get the idea. Anyways, next time you are making a purchase and you want to know just how socially aware the company is who is manufacturing the product, whip out your blackberry and go to GoodGuide.com. Let me know if any of you have used this site. I went to go buy toothpaste today and I found that Pepsodent Toothpastewas the cheapest and rated very high.

Interview with The Clean Bin Project

So over the last few weeks I have been lucky to meet some pretty cool bloggers. A few weeks ago, I talked with Jen, Grant and Rhyannon who have a blog called The Clean Bin Project. I was so excited with what they are doing that I wanted to share it with all of you.

Inspired by a two-month cycle trip from Vancouver to Mexico, Jenny and Grant realized that you really don’t need that much stuff to live. For two months, they carried everything they had. Once they returned home, they were overwhelmed, they had a house full of stuff and this made them think… “Do we really need more?” This question prompted the beginning of The Clean Bin Project. On their website, they blog daily about how their journey is going, it is really funny and informative. Just last week I learned how to pop popcorn off of the cob! There are quite a few rules they have created…

The Rules:
1. We cannot buy any material goods.
2. We cannot buy anything that comes in non-recyclable packaging
3. We must avoid excess packaging
4. We must take all waste produced personally by us home with us.

The Garbage:
• We will compost all food scraps
• We will recycle all paper, glass, and plastic possible
• We will keep all true garbage (destined for the landfill) in our individual garbage cans for the entire year. The person with the least garbage at the end of the year wins.

There is another section where they outline the details to these rules, here is the link.

As I know, a lot of you have asked that I shorten my postings so I will summarize there big tips.
• Vancouver recycles 4 types of plastics, most places only recycle 2.
• There biggest tips, Plan ahead. Bring a container, or a mug. Carry a reusable shopping bag with you all the time.
• Soft plastics are a big no no
• Buy items in glass container if possible
• Buy from the bulk selection.
• Shop on the outer rim of the grocery store. Ask for your bread and cheese to be put in your own containers. (they might give you a weird look, but they will get over it)

The big thing here that you are probably asking yourself is, what is the convenience factor. When I asked them, they responded, “actually it is not that hard, not as hard as we thought it would be. Honestly, more people can make these changes, they just have to try.”

During the process of this project (they are on day 251now) they have been filming a documentary called Taking out the Trash: the Clean Bin Project. I highly suggest you watch it, its very very good.

Overall, these were amazing people to meet, and I hope they have inspired you to make a change, as much as they inspired me. To see their top ten tips click here. Last, challenge yourself. Maybe a year is not exactly the commitment you are ready to have now, but start with a day, a week, or any other amount of time. Challenge your friends, school, or co-workers. The first step to making a difference is taking a first step.

If any of you are brave enough to try it out, let me know! I myself will be. Be sure to check out how Jen, Grant and Rhyannon are doing on cleanbinproject.com`

Just A Little Inspiration

Hello All,

Week after week I show you ways to green your home and life on a budget. But now let me ask you a question, do you ever read some of my suggestions and think “ahh I just really don’t feel like putting that effort in” or “does it really make a difference if I do this?”. I do not think there is a lack of awareness for global warming, but I think every now and then it is good to take a step back and look at what we will lose if we don’t make a change. In this posting I want to give your eyes a break from text, and show you pictures. I hope you enjoy. Let me know what is your favorite. Thanks to TreeHugger and the Earth From the Air DVD for supplying these photos.

One of the most visible signs of global warming, the snows of Kilimanjaro have dwindled some 80 percent in little more than a century. Ice has also thinned significantly, leading scientists to believe the famous sight could be gone by 2020.

Los Glaciares National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site that contains 47 glaciers that originated from the continental glacial. Global warming will melt the ice, raising the level of the oceans by an average of 20 inches before the end of the 21st century and drowning the fertile shore areas.

Mangrove swamps such as this one seen near Voh, New Caledonia cover nearly 25 percent of the world's coastal areas. That's just half their original range; exploitation of resources, agricultural and urban sprawl, and pollution have caused their demise. Vegetation gives way to bare spots, such as this heart-shaped one, where seawater rarely reaches

This is a picture that will soon be gone if we don't start to make a change. This is the Maldive Islands and they consists of 26 atolls and just under 1,200 islets, of which 250 are inhabited. With a maximum elevation of only 2.3 meters, and an average elevation of just 1.5 meters, it's easy to see why the Maldives are going to get inundated by only a small increase in sea levels.

I hope you enjoyed all of these pictures, and hopefully this makes you have more passion towards the environment. I will leave you with this last picture Don't let anything get in your way. Make a change, even if you it means chaning the norm

Donate Without Spending a Penny

If you are anything like me, you are a sucker for someone asking you if you would like to donate a few dollars to a charity. I swear, even if the last time I used my debit card it said insufficient funds, and I only have $5 in my wallet, I will end up putting back the sandwich I was going to buy in order to donate my last few dollars. I heard a while ago that there is a new way to donate money without having to give away any of your own money, it is called click to donate.

There are quite a few different websites out there that are great to use.

Care2
If you click here, you save 1 pound of carbon

The Hunger SiteIf you click here you protect 11.4 square feet of the rainforest

Andddd there are many more at this site, One Click at a Time

Last, this is a neat one. You pick your charity, and it donates money every time you search for something on the web (like google). It is called Good Search. Try it out!

These sites make money to give to charity by the advertisements you are viewing when you are clicking on their website. So really, all you are doing is clicking, and someone else is donating their money for you. Now that is a great way to help the environment, or any other cause for that matter, on a budget!

If clicking to donate is not your thing, try donating your computer’s idle time. Sounds strange? Click here to find out how you can donate your computing power to research projects.

Now you can put some more money into your RRSPs (remember the cutoff is midnight tonight!!!) and feel good about yourself.

Have any of you used this before? Can you suggest other sites that are good to go to?

Give Up Lint For Lent

This is a pretty simple concept, if you don’t use your dryer, you save electricity, which reduces you electricity bill, but have you ever thought of the other ways it saves you money? When you put your clothes in the dryer you are actually ruining the elastic that holds the clothes together. This means, the more you put your clothes in the dryer, the faster they get worn out. By avoiding putting your clothes in the dryer, you are extending their life and increasing the amount of cash in your pocket.

I love the way Jess Yeager from the Ultimate Cheapskate blog puts it, “Given that the average American family spends about $1,800 a year on clothing, that $900 savings over, say, thirty years with a compounded interest rate of five percent could build you a nice little nest egg of close to $70,000. And that’s before factoring in the additional savings on energy and appliance costs when you line-dry instead of use a machine.”

Hmmm have you ever thought of it like that? That is a lot of money to save, not to mention the good feeling you will get for helping the environment

So what can I offer you? Your clothes do have to dry somehow, so here is a list of great ways to give up your dryer no matter what kind of house you live in. (I mean, come on now, I know not all of us live in the perfect country house with a cute little clothes line…or maybe I just thinks its cute)

1. Hang your clothes on hangers – maker sure to keep them far apart so they can dry.

1. Pin your clothes on to hangers – if the item of clothing you have does not stay on a hanger, pin it to your hanger!

3. Buy a clothes rack – put your small, lighter fabric clothes on the bottom, your heavier clothes on the top, and hang your bras and underwear off the side.

4. Hang large sheets over your shower rods

5. If its sunny, put your clothes outside – seems pretty simple, but take advantage of your resources outside. Use patio chairs, or tie a string from tree to tree and hang your clothes on the line.

6. If it is winter put your clothes by your heater – If you have a gas fire place you can place your clothes nearby. Make sure to keep them far enough away so they do not catch fire, and if you use a wood burning fire, you might want to avoid using it to dry your clothes to make sure you don’t smell like you went camping for the weekend. If you have vents, put your clothes rack by them.

A few more hints **
If you like the soft feeling of your clothes when they come out of the dryer, put them in the dryer for about 5 minutes right before they are almost dry and they will come out nice and soft. If you want to save even more money off your electricity bill, wash your clothes in cold water.

As you can see in Jess Yeager’s quote, there is a lot of money to be saved by ditching the dryer.

How many of you do this already? I came across this Youtube video and I absolutely love it and I thought it fit in quite well with this article. You might think air drying your clothes seems archaic, but the comedian Louis CK does a good job of making fun of this motion. Trust me, it is worth watching!